Stretch Out Your Hand

“Stretch out your hand," 

Luke 6:10

When Jesus visited a synagogue on a Sabbath, there was a man with a withered hand. Jesus healed him with no hesitation even if He knew He was being judged badly for healing on a Sabbath. 

All of us have a withered something we can stretch out to the Lord. It can be a talent we haven't used, a dream we've allowed to die, our health, a relationship destroyed by unforgiveness...

The good news is Jesus is asking us to stretch it out to Him, for healing, restoration, to make it whole again. We shouldn't lose hope. There's always hope. God never abandons us, although it may feel like He does sometimes. There is an ancient adage, “Homo viator, spe erectus,”, Latin for “Man is a wayfarer, (supported) upright by hope”.  In German, when a woman is pregnant, one says that she is “der Hoffnung”, she is “in hope”. 

What do we need to stretch out to God today? Whatever it is, we should know that our God walks with us. He has a plan. He always has a plan. In Romans 8:28: St. Paul tells us, “All things work together FOR GOOD to those that love God.” Or “In ALL THINGS God works together with those who love Him to bring about what is GOOD.” We just need to trust Him with all our mind, heart, and strength. 

Ambushed by Joy

"Where there are two or three gathered in my name, there am I in their midst." Matthew 18:20

What an amazing promise Jesus gave His followers! At our baptisms in the Holy Spirit, we pray for an outpouring of His presence. We are not just two or three brothers and sisters, but sometimes more than 50 gathered in Jesus' name, asking for the gift that outweighs any other gift! There are no tongues of fire as described in the Acts of the Apostles, but the presence of God is so palpable in the joy and exuberance of the singing as we worship, in the weeping, and the praying in tongues. 

In all of this, Jesus is at the heart of the celebration. The baptism of the Holy Spirit plants a very tenacious seed, but it has to be cultivated, just like seeds planted in a field. It needs the water of prayer, the sunlight of scripture, the oxygen of service and the good soil of being a part of a community of believers where Jesus will be present! 

Living in Christ is living in joy, in love, in peace. Faith is all this because it connects us to the source of all- God the Creator Himself! C.S. Lewis started out as an adamant atheist but he did not account for God being at the center of every question he asked. In his book, "Surprised by Joy", he wrote that, "Really, a young atheist cannot guard his atheism too carefully. Dangers lie in wait for him on every side..."

Lord, ambush me like You ambushed C.S. Lewis and Mother Teresa, and Saint Francis! Consume me with joy in Your presence as I gather with two or three in Your name! 

Invisible Crown

“…to present you holy, without blemish, and irreproachable before Him…” Colossians 1:22

“Noblesse oblige”, a French phrase which translates to “nobility obligates” or “nobility obliges”, means that people of noble ancestry have an unwritten obligation to act honorably, responsibly, and generously towards others, especially the less fortunate.

Is there anyone more noble than a son or daughter of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords? We are children of the living God, and we should always remember to wear our invisible crown. What we do reflects on our Father, especially if we claim to be Christians. We may be the only Bible others may ever see. 

Alas! We may not always present ourselves on our best behavior, but we may be assured as heirs of our Father, “Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the Church to Himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind – yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish” (Eph 5:25-27). 

Without spot or wrinkle or blemish! Yes, Christ gave Himself for us so that it is possible by going to Him every day to be washed clean of our pride, arrogance even, our feeling entitled, our selfishness, our lack of compassion, and everything that makes us dirty and separates us from our noble family. 

Let us strive to live in a way that every day, we get closer and closer to our Father, and nearer and nearer to doing everything for His glory!

Behold Mary

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” Matthew 1:22-23

Today Catholics celebrate the birthday of the blessed Virgin, frequently a stumbling block for other Christians who do not understand why we make so much of her. We call Mary the the Ark of the Covenant. See how the New Testament is concealed in the Old, and the Old is revealed and fulfilled in the New. 

The Holy Spirit overshadowed and then indwelled the Ark just as the Spirit overshadowed and indwelled Mary. Both Mary and the Ark became the dwelling place of the presence of God. Just as Mary traveled to the house of Elizabeth and stayed there for 3 months, so was the Ark brought to Obed-Edom, only a short distance away from Ein Kerem (Elizabeth's place in the hill country), and remained there for 3 months. 

John the Baptist, of priestly lineage, while in his mother's womb, leapt at the approach of Mary. So too David, dressed as a priest, leapt and danced before the ark. Inside of the Ark of the Covenant, were the stone tablets of the Law, the manna from the wilderness, and the rod of Aaron, the proof of true priesthood. Inside Mary's womb, was the Word of God made flesh, the Bread of Life, and the actual and eternal High Priest. (2 Samuel 6, Luke 1:39-41, Hebrews 9:4)

Just like Elizabeth, I ask, "Why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord shall come to me?" Just like David, I ask, "How can the Ark of the Covenant come to me?" Indeed He comes, ever new, ever faithful. I await Him and He comes. Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus! I thank the mother of Jesus who said yes in her obedience and humility so God’s more than wonderful plan can be fulfilled.

Put Out Into the Deep

"Put out into the deep..." 

Luke 5:4

When my youngest sister Tina got married in 2016 to Patrick, an American living in Tokyo, it was a big change for her. Tina lived a protected life here, surrounded by family, friends, and a Christian community. Leaving everything familiar behind was certainly a decision to put out into the deep waters of the unknown.

When Jesus got into Simon's boat, at the edge of Lake Gennesaret, Simon did not know Him at all. Simon and the other fishermen were washing their nets. That meant they had done with fishing and were going home for a nice meal and some rest. But Jesus got into the boat, and started preaching. After He finished speaking, Jesus said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch." If I was Peter, I might have said, "What?!!! After we have cleaned and washed our nets?!!!! No way!" Then I would have missed the greatest adventure of my life! 

Ron Lambros wrote in his book, “God does not want our faith kept in mothballs, so He sometimes allows trials and testing to come into our lives; the unexpected hardships and heartbreaks that rock us in places we never thought we'd face as a child of God. And it's in those defining moments that we knock off the cobwebs of our everyday faith and face life with a new and improved one that's empowered by God Himself.” 

We must always remember that challenges and trials are not a detour in our life, it is part of our journey. As Richard Paul Evans said, “Mountains can crush or raise you, depending on which side of the mountain you choose to stand on. All history bears out that the great, those who have changed the world, have all suffered great challenges. And, more times than not it's precisely those challenges that, in God's time, lead to triumph.”

Let us be prepared to put out into the deep water of these trials of today, knowing that with the Lord at our side, we will emerge stronger and victorious. 

Look at God

“At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place. The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him, they tried to prevent him from leaving them.” Luke 4:42

We definitely need miracles today. Many are hungry. Many are desperate. Prices of basic commodities are going up. Our country is in dire straits. Our debt-to-GDP ratio is worrying to say the least. And our leaders don’t tell us where the money is going as it certainly isn’t going where it is needed! Our education system is in need of first aid. At least 78% of students in the Philippines failed to reach minimum levels of proficiency in reading, math and science. Many young and old people show signs of depression. 

We need a miracle worker who can make food for thousands from an offering of five loaves and two fish. What is God’s answer to a farmer whose crop was destroyed in the recent typhoon? What is a rice vendor to do if he has to sell his rice lower than how much he bought it for? 

Where else do we look for comfort but in God’s presence? Even Jesus left the crowds to listen to His Father. “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34) We need to take one day at a time. If we worry about the what if’s of the future, there will be no end to our worries and anxieties. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?" (Matthew 6:25) If we stand on God’s promises, He will be faithful to take care of us. That is what I say to myself. He has taken care of our business for more than 55 years, He will continue to take care of us. We have only to trust in Him. 

"I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair." (Corinthians 4:8) 

Only in God can we find answers. If we try to find it within ourselves, or in our government, we will come up empty. Corrie Ten Boom, who went through so much suffering during the Holocaust and survived victoriously, proclaimed, “If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God you'll be at rest.”

Disturb Me, Lord!

“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” Luke 4:34

A man with an unclean spirit shrieked: "What do you want of us?? Why are you bothering us?? Let us alone!! What business do you have with us??" In other words, "This is my life, get your hands off my life, don't interfere!!"

The unclean spirit KNEW who he was talking to- Jesus, the Holy One of God. We all know God wants to "intervene" in our life. He wants to help us, redeem us, guide us. But sometimes, we want to be left alone to do what we want. We don't want to change. We don't want to see what needs to be changed IN us!! We are too proud to admit we need to change.

Romans 12:3 reads "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.." I have to confess I deal with this in myself all the time. When I get impatient or annoyed about something or someone, is it not that I am thinking I am too important to deal with this, to deal with incompetence or inefficiency, slow acting, or slow speech, falling in line, or whatever. We have to watch how we treat people, family, office mates, strangers. We must be on guard against any feeling of superiority or entitlement. 

Beng humble is how we show we are learning and growing to be disciples. "By this shall all men know you are My disciples- that you love one another." (John 13:35) Corinthians 13 says that when we love, we are patient, kind, humble, we don't take into account a wrong suffered, we bear all things, we endure!

Yes Lord, disturb us! Show us where we need to change!

The Most Powerful Force in the World

“Is this not the son of Joseph?” Luke 4:22

If you grow up in a town or 500 or so, you know everybody and everybody knows you. When Jesus visits Nazareth, you would think Jesus would be welcomed like the hometown hero! They were curious enough to listen to him in the synagogue, and many of them were astonished. The word used here is equivalent to "many of them were blown away by what He said". Instead of opening their hearts to His life giving Words, they closed their minds because they knew who He was! "Is this not the carpenter? Did we not see him grow up? Don't we know His family? Is He not Joseph and Mary's Son?"

And so unbelief and doubt and skepticism prevailed. Jesus could not do any miracles in Nazareth because of the lack of faith that hovered over the town. Faith is a powerful force but so is unbelief. Because Eve did not believe, the whole of humanity was cursed. There is so much anti-Christ sentiment in the world today. Is it any wonder that there are so many problems that are impossible for man to solve? We need miracles. We need God to do the impossible. And that needs the most powerful force in the world- FAITH!

Think As God Does

Think as God does, not as human beings do. 

Peter gets rebuked by Jesus in Matthew 16. Jesus says, "Get behind me Satan! You are an OBSTACLE to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." And this is right after Jesus said, "Blessed are you!" to Peter after Peter finally realized that Jesus was the Messiah.

In spite of Peter's impulsiveness, his cowardice, his quick mouth, Jesus chose him, groomed him to be a leader, and never gave up on him.

God knows me just as I am. Wishy washy, impulsive like Peter, cowardly too! But God can use me as I am, where I am, with whatever I have. I just have to learn to trust Him, and not be so obsessed with having God explain everything to me. After all, the CEO of Apple or Microsoft doesn't have to explain his business decisions to the janitor! 

If we start with trust, we will understand with our hearts, and our minds will follow.

Come Share Your Master’s Joy!

“Come share your Master’s joy.” Matthew 25:21

In Matthew 25, Jesus gives us the gift of another parable. A rich man goes off on a journey and entrusted talents to each of his servants. Today we think of talents as a special ability. A talent in Jesus’ day was a measure of the weight of gold or silver so one talent in today’s equivalent would be about more than a million dollars. One servant was given 5, the second one two, and the third, one. When he left, the first servant immediately went and used the talents, maybe bought a boat and started fishing and sold fish. The second one probably went to Divisoria and bought stuff to sell. The third one dug a hole in the ground and hid it. 

When the Master came back after a long time, he called his servants and settled accounts with them. He was so happy that the first one doubled his talents that he exclaimed, “Well done, my good and faithful servant! Since you were faithful with small matters, I will put you in charge of many things! Come, share your master’s joy! Celebrate with me!” The same thing happened with the second servant who was also able to double the talents entrusted to him. 

But alas! The third servant received a tongue whipping! “Wicked and lazy! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten! Throw this useless servant into the darkness outside!” 

When we use our creativity and imagination, when we work hard, using the gifts and talents God generously gave each of us, we do experience joy! It is the same joy that God experienced in Genesis when He created the heavens and the earth. God totally revelled in making all the magnificent birds, fishes and flowers. He took great pleasure in forming the corals in Coron, sculpting the Niagara, carving Mount Everest, and waving the VY Canis Majoris into existence. “God saw that it was good,” is repeated so many times in Genesis. I believe that God wanted us to have that same kind of triumph and exhilaration when we too make something out of what has been given us. The first servant IMMEDIATELY went out to use the talents. He was that excited. We too should be excited to use whatever resources we have at our disposal. At the end, we will have to show God what we have done with the talents he gifted us with. I hope God will say to each of us, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the fullness of my joy!” 

Keep Me Burning!

And the foolish said to the prudent, "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out." Matthew 25:8

Jesus' parable of the 5 prudent virgins and the 5 foolish virgins is a warning, one of many warnings Jesus gave about how we should always be prepared for His coming. Verse 10 reads, "...and the door was shut." The door is wide open for us now but there will come a time, if we do not have what we need, that the door will be shut forever in our face. Just like the foolish virgins who were pleading, "Lord, open  the door for us," no amount of cajoling will get us in!

What did the foolish virgins do to deserve such a punishment? They did not bring any oil for their lamps. All 10 virgins were eagerly awaiting the bridegroom, 5 had extra oil with them, 5 did not. When the light from their lamps were petering out, the 5 foolish virgins asked for oil from the wise and were not given any. Were the 5 wise virgins selfish? No, because this kind of oil we cannot share with others. 

The lamps represent our spiritual life, and the oil everything that keeps our faith vibrant and burning brightly. We cannot borrow prayer or studying the Bible or giving alms from others. We cannot receive it from our parents or beg from our brothers and sisters in our church or community. We have to have our own oil so we don’t run out. 

Lord, may I forever, until the day I die, keep my lamp burning brightly for You! You are my Bridegroom, my delight and my joy! 

Stay Awake!

“Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.” Matthew 24:42

I heard Bishop Barron say in one of his homilies that “much of our Western culture today is like the Decapolis.” He said it was  “not a culture shaped by the word of God, but shaped very much by secularist influences.” 

But what was the Decapolis he was comparing Western culture to? The word itself is derived from ancient Greek words déka which means ten and pólis which means city. It was a league of ten cities, which was the center of Greek and Roman culture. Jesus and His disciples also went around this region inhabited mostly by Gentiles, not Jews. 

In Israel, there were many who gave importance to God’s Word and His ways. But in the Decapolis, there were many dissenting voices, there was a lot of materialism, temples to different gods, individualism, and the search for meaning apart from God. We can see in today’s world there are many views drowning out the Word of God too! 

Jesus said, “Stay awake!” In 1 Peter 5:8, Peter warns us, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Lions hunt by stalking quietly like a cat, they stay hidden for as long as possible. The devil and his minions are like that too. They prefer to work in the dark, nothing blatant so they catch us unaware. They see our weaknesses and work tirelessly until we are already caught in their claws. But God is also on the hunt. His quest is us, each one of us, and He won’t rest until we see the light and reach out for Him. Yes, He will come for us! We can depend on it!

Just A Little Stone

“You have searched me and you know me, Lord.” Psalm 139:1

The Father knows us inside and out. He knows us better than we know ourselves.

I am reminded of a Swiss theologian and Catholic priest, Hans Urs von Balthasar, whose thinking for me is quite difficult to comprehend, too complicated. But when God called him, God used very simple ideas, so easy to understand for you and for me. 

God said: “You have nothing to choose, you have been called. You will not serve, you will be taken into service. You have no plans to make, you are just a little stone in a mosaic which has long been ready.” All Hans needed to do was “leave everything and follow,” without making plans, without wishes or insights. All he needed to do was to stand there and wait and see what he would be needed for. . . . At that stage it was just a matter of surrendering himself. 

This is the part I love: “You are just a little stone in a mosaic which has long been ready.” Aren’t we all little, insignificant stones in God’s beautiful, wondrous mosaic? He knows our gifts and talents, our idiosyncrasies, our weaknesses, yet He wants to use us to create this divine masterpiece that He has a design for already! All we need to do is trust, surrender, and say yes! 

More Than Wonderful

“Behind me and before, you hem me in and rest your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; too lofty for me to attain.” Psalm 139:4-6

Mother Teresa had a devotion to Jesus’ thirsting for us, for our souls. In the Chapel of the Missionaries of Charity, the religious order that this Saint founded, there is usually a crucifix behind the altar with the words, “I THIRST” in big, bold, black capitals. We are familiar with these words, as these are some of the last words of Jesus as he was dying on the cross. 

Jesus not only sacrificed His life for us, He also wanted to satiate our longing for the infinite. St. Augustine’s prayer sums it up for us beautifully in the opening of his Confessions: “…our heart is restless until it rests in you.” Jesus constantly waits for us to say yes to Him. He is the hound of heaven that English poet Francis Thompson described, always after us, hemming us in, behind us and before us. Perhaps for some this is suffocating, but for those who realize how real God’s love and passion for us is, “it it more than wonderful”. 

As Sandi Patti’s song goes, 

“For He's more wonderful than my mind can conceive

He's more wonderful than my heart can believe

He goes beyond my highest hopes and fondest dreams

He's everything (He's everything) that my soul ever longed for

Everything that He's promised and so much more

He's more than amazing, more than marvelous

More than miraculous could ever be

He's more than wonderful, (wonderful)

That's what Jesus is to me

Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh

I stand amazed when I think that the King of glory

Would come to dwell within the heart of man

Oh, I marvel just to know He really loves me

When I think of who He is, and who I am…” 

Saints and Sinners

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.” Matthew 23:13

Hypocrisy is a constant temptation for us. We all want to appear good. There is so much we hide from the world. And I don’t just mean the junk in our drawers and cabinets when guests are expected. Much more serious are the sins that we repeatedly do. St. Augustine, whose feast day we celebrate today, is no exception. 

He is the patron saint of brewers because for many years he lived his life wantonly enjoying himself with parties and worldly pursuits.

As the story goes, he heard about two men who had suddenly been converted and he felt terribly ashamed of himself. “What are we doing?" he cried to his friend. “Unlearned people are taking Heaven by force, while we, with all our knowledge, are so cowardly that we keep rolling around in the mud of our sins!"

Full of bitter sorrow, Augustine flung himself out into the garden and cried out to God, “How long more, O Lord? Why does not this hour put an end to my sins?"

Just then he heard a child singing, “Take up and read!" Thinking God intended him to hear those words, he picked up the book of the Letters of Saint Paul, and read the first passage his gaze fell on. It was just what Augustine needed, for in it, St. Paul says to put away all impurity and to live in imitation of Jesus. From then on, Augustine lived a new life! His writings and sermons are the foundation of much of our Catholic teaching and theology, and are still very much relevant today. 

How amazing that God gives us this priceless gift! We can just go to Him, ask forgiveness and we too are new creations! We can begin anew! This is not just for St. Augustine, and all the saints, but for each of us as well! 

St. Augustine, pray for us!

Who Do You Say I Am?

"Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asked Peter in Matthew 16:15.

There is a letter that exists that purports to be a description of Jesus Christ, written by  Lentulus, the Prefect of Judea, to Tiberius Caesar. For me, it is wishful thinking to believe it is genuine, more a curiousity than an authentic record.

“There lives at this time in Judea a man of singular virtue, whose name is Jesus Christ, whom the barbarians esteem as a prophet, but his followers love and adore him as the offspring of the immortal God. He calls back the dead from the graves and heals all sorts of diseases with a word or touch. He is a tall man, well shaped, and of amenable and reverent aspect; He has hair of a color that can hardly be matched, falling into graceful curls, waving about and very agreeably couching about his shoulders, parted on the crown of his head, running as a stream to the front after the fashion of the Nazarites. His forehead is high, large and imposing; his cheeks without spot or wrinkle, beautiful with a lovely red; his nose and mouth formed with exquisite symmetry; His beard of a color suitable to his hair, reaching below his chin and parted in the middle like a fork; His eyes, bright blue, clear and serene, look innocent, dignified, manly and mature.

“In proportion of body most perfect and captivating; his arms and hands delectable to behold. He rebukes with majesty, counsels with mildness; His whole address, whether in word or deed, being eloquent and grave. No man has seen Him laugh, yet his manners are modest and wise, a man for his extraordinary beauty and divine perfection, surpassing the children of men in every sense.”

The letter above was presented to the Vatican around the 9th century and taken for an eyewitness account for a long while. This was at a time when the finding of religious artifacts and relics were at their peak. Although it is exciting to have a physical description of Jesus, and an account of his manners and comportment, ultimately what is more important is what He said and did. 

Each one of us has to answer the question Jesus put to Peter, “Who do you say that I am?” If we can answer like Peter, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” from a place of faith, Jesus can use us also to build His Kingdom here on earth. 

Do Not Follow Their Example

 “Practice and obey whatever they say to you but do not follow their example." Matthew 23:3

This is what Jesus said to the disciples about the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees. He most probably would say the same about me! I should be constantly careful about the things I write because it says in James 3:1, "We who teach will be judged by God with greater strictness."

Who were the Pharisees? "The Pharisees," as I read from pencilled notes on my Bible (probably from The Word Among Us) "got their name from the Hebrew word ‘Perusim’, meaning the separated ones- and they really did try to live up to their title. They were primarily a lay renewal movement that arose from a group of pious Jews who resisted pagan influence during the Greek occupation of Palestine in 4th C BC."

They wore phylacteries (prayer boxes) on their forehead or left wrist, which contained parchment with texts from the Torah, "in such a way that it hung from in front of the eyes! Thus the injunction to keep the law as a sign on the hand and as a memorial between the eyes was literally observed." (Jerome Commentary)

How about me? A lot of people have a junk drawer to keep their mess out of view. I have a junk ROOM! My spiritual mess is not on display either! So do not follow my example!

Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner!